Controller for conveying mechanism



H. S. HENDRICKS.

CONTROLLER FOR CONVEYING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23,192].

Ill/VENTOR H. S. HENDRICKS.

CONTROLLER FOR CONVEYING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23, 192].

Patented Dec. 5, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Dec. 5, 1922.

Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO ROSALIE NATHAN HENDRICKS, OF NEW YORK, N.Y., A'ND ONE-THIRD TO ROBERT E. NAUM- BERG, OF WINCHESTER,MASSACHUSETTS. i

CONTROLLER FOR CONVEYING MECHANISM.

Application filed June 23,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it lmown that I, HENRY S. HENDRICKS, residing at New York city, inthe county of New York and State of New York, a citizen of the UnitedStates,'have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Controllersfor Conveying Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in controllers for conveyingmechanism.

The object of my invention is to provide automatic control to supply andcut off electric power from moving stairways and other conveyingmachinery, in such a way as to eliminate the waste of electric currentwhen the stairwayor other conveying machinery is not in actual use.

I will describe specifically how my invention may be used in connectionwith a moving stairway, inclined elevator or escalator. However, I donot limit myself to this use of my device, as it can be applied withlittle or y no modification to any kind of moving platform, belt "orother conveying machine, whether. intended to carry passengers or otherloads. 7

- In the case of a moving stairway, the controller is preferablysituated under the floor, a short distance from the bottom of the movingstairway.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective;

Fig. 2 is a plan view.

The entrance to the stairway is arranged so that all persons must passover a movable platform P, which becomes slightly depressed by theweight of a person stepping upon it, thus constituting a trip. Under theplatform P is the 'controller box H, secured to the fixed platform'F.

The tilting platform P is supported by the arms M, M, hinged by means ofthe pins N, N, to brackets K, K fastened to the box X.

When platform l is depressed by the weight of a person approaching thestairway, the link L transmits the motion to the lever V, in such a wayas to magnify the amount of motion, as shown.

The support 0, holds a rotatable shaft T, on which are rigidly mountedthe wormgear W andthe ratchet wheel R. Mounted loosely on the shaft Tare the arm A and the fing er G adjustably connected by a setscrewfastened to arm A and acting in 1921. Serial No. 479,905.

curved ,slot Z which allows the angle between A and r to be varied atwill.

On the arm A is a pawl Y, supported by a pm I, and held against ratchetwheel R by means of a tension spring S sw tch U is mounted on the wallof the box X in such a way as to be turned on and off by the motion offinger G.

The spring contact J is insulated from the rest of the machine, and onewire runs from J to the electric motor which drives the moving stairway.The other'wire is grounded anywhere on the machine, or attached to theswitch as shown. When the switch U is pushed up by the finger G, itmakes contactwith contact J, closing the circuit, and starting theelectric motor, while pushing switch U down away from spring contact Jwill break the circuit and stop the motor.

An electric A plunger D and spring E tend to hold the switch, either inthe on or"ofl' osition. The motor drives the worm Q supported by thebearings H, H) and drives worm-wheel W.

The operation of my invention is as follows.:A person approaching thestairway steps on platform P, and his weight de- Then lever V causesarmA and pawl Y to swing down, as shown in dotted lines.

As arm A swings down finger G (which is held tightly to A by means ofthe set-screw C) swings up, causing switch U to come in contact withspring contact J, thus closing the electric circuit, and automaticallystarting the motor which sets the moving stairway in motion, and alsodrives worm Q, which drives worm wheel W, shaft T, and ratchet wheel R,clockwise, as shown.

When the weight of theperson is removed from platform P, the springs B,B raise it to its normal position, lifting lever V also, thus restoringthe latter to its normal position, as shown in full'lines in Fig. 3. As

' motor.

Set-screw C is so adjusted in slot Z that the interval from the timethat finger G makes the circuit, until finger Gr breaks the circuit, isust sufficient for the moving stairway to carry its passenger from hisstarting point to his destination.-

llf several people step on the platform P, one right after the other,the switch U will be closed, as described before, but each time a personsteps on P the lever V will push Y to its lowest position, and it muststart climbing all over again. The result is that the finger G will notcause V to break the circuit until the last passenger to step on theplatform P has reached his destination.

I claim:

1. The combination with a conveyor, of a movable trip adapted to receivea load and be moved thereby, whereby to start the conveyor and means forautomatically stopping the latter at a predetermined time after the loadshall have been removed from the movable trip.

'2. The combination with conveying mechanism, of a controller includinga platform, which constitutes a trip, a lever actuated thereby, a shaft,an electric motor for driving th shaft, a switch, and means carried bythe shaft in osition to be actuated by the lever and or operating theswitch, whereby tomake and break a circuit through the motor.

3. The combination with conveying mechanism, of a controller including amovably mounted platform, which constitutes a trip,

' a shaft, an electric motor for driving said shaft, an electric switchand circuit, means for actuating the switch for controlling the motor,and means connected with the platform for actuating said first-mentionedmeans when weight is applied to the platform. I

4:. The combination with conveying mechanism, of a controller includinga movable platform, which constitutes a trip, an electric motor, ashaft, means for transmitting motion from the motor to the shaft, aratchet-toothed wheel carried by the shaft an arm, a finger loosely'mounted on the shaft, said arm and finger adjustably connected together,a spring-actuated pawl carried by the arm adapted to engage the teeth ofthe ratchet-wheel, an electric switch in position to be actuated by thefinger to make and break the electric circuit to the motor. and meansconnected with the platform for engaging the pawl whereby to close thecircuit and set the motor in operation.

5. The combination with a moving stairway, of a movable platform, alever con nected therewith and actuated thereby, a shaft, a motor, meansfor transmitting the motionof the motor to the shaft, an electric switchfor controlling the motor, and means carried by the shaft in position tobe actuated by the lever to actuate the switch tc automatically closethe circuit through the motor when the platform-is moved from its normalposition, and for actuating the switch to break the circuit whenever thestairway shall have carried the last passengerto his destination.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix m3 signature,

HENRY S. HENDRICKS.

